Method of attaching escutcheon members



P 1929- L. OTTINGER I 1,726,582

METHOD OF ATTACHING ESCUTCHEON MEMBERS Filed March 1927 k3 INVENTOR Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

PATENT OFFICE.

LEON OTTINGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF ATTACHING ESCUTCHEON MEMBERS.

Application filed March 4, 1927. Serial No. 172,905.

This invention relates to an improved method and means for attaching escutcheon members, and while of more or less general application, is primarily designed for the purpose of attaching latch handle escutcheons to doors such as are used on the modern types of automobiles. More or less recent developments in the automobile industry, have resulted in the adoption by many automobile 1o manufacturers of the all metal body, wherein the body structure is fabricated from stamped or die-pressed sheet steel sections. The doors likewise each consists of inner and outer sheet steel door plates suitably secured to a frame structure.

It is therefore, the primary object of'my present improvements to provide a method and means whereby an escutcheon member surrounding the latch handle shaft at the outer side of the door may be easily, quickly and rigidly attached to the door plate without resorting to welding, or the use of rivets, fastening screws or other additional attaching elements.

It is a more particular object of the inven tion to provide a novel method whereby parts of the escutcheon member projecting inward ly through an opening in the door plate may be securely interlocked with the door plate at the edge of said opening and the escutcheon member surrounding said opening at the same time being positively drawn into tight abutting contact against the face of the door plate. It is also another important object of my invention to provide a simple and easily 0perated means for applying the escutcheon member embodying relatively movable elements adapted to be positioned through a flange extending inwardly from the escutcheon member through the door opening, and said members having suitably formedcutting edges and cam surfaces, whereby upon their relative movement, theescutcheon flange is cut or split at spaced points and indentations simiiiltaneously formed in the edge of the door opening and the flange metal at one side of the cut expanded. into the indentations, thereby rigidly securing the escutcheon memher to the door plate against relative movement.

It is a further general object of the invention to provide a method and means for the attachment of the escutcheon members whereby the manual labor and time consumed in assembly, as well as material costs in this item of automobile body manufacture will be appreciabl reduced.

With the a ove and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved method and means for attaching escutcheon mem-' bers and in the several essential features sponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 1s a side elevation of the attaching tool;

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary view showing the tool aws in then open or expanding positions; V Fig; 3 is an end elevation of the tool as seen '1n Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional. view through the front plate of an automobile door showing the escutcheon member arranged in position for attachment thereto;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the relation of the attaching tool to the escutcheon member after the operation of said tool;

Fig. 6 is a detail inner face view of the door plate showing the interlocked connection of the escuteheon flange therewith, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail fragmentary section at the inner face of the door plate more clearly illustrating the interlocking engagement between said plate and the escutcheon flange.

. Referring in detail to the drawing, and for the present more particularly to Fig. 4

thereof, for the purpose of this explanation,

I have shown" the present invention as adapted for use in connection with a combined bearing and escutcheon for door latches, such as that disclosed in my co-pending application for patent filed March 3, 1924, Serial No. 696,426 and now issued as Patent No. 1,641,988, dated September 13, 1927. It will however, be understood as this description proceeds that the novel features of my present invention might also be advantageously employed in connection with escutcheon members of various other structural forms and with which the bearing for the handle shaft may or may not be combined to constitute a composite unit. As shown,'the

escutcheon member is die-stamped or formed from a sheet metal blank to provide a hollow annular head 5, the inner side of which is open and in which an annular shaft bearing element 6 of yieldable or compressible matepressed outwardly or offset from the plane of in Figs 2 and said wall to provide an annular rib indicated at 8. The internal diameter of the felt bear-.

ing element 6 is of appreciably less diameter than the internal diameter of the flange 7 so that the shaft will be rotatably supported in the bearing element 6 out of contact with the metal escutcheon member, it being also observed that the shaft receivin opening of said bearing element is of less iameter than the internal diameter of the outer or front wall of theescutcheon head 5.

The sheet metal door plate 9 is provided with an opening 10 therein, said Opening being accurately related to theactuating rollback of a latch suitably mounted or secured upon the inner side plate of the door. It is of course, apparent that the outer diameter of the escutcheon flan e 7 is determined in ac" cordance with the iameter of this opening 10 in the door plate so that said flange may be snugly fitted through said opening, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

The means for effecting the permanent attachment of the escutcheon member to the door plate, is preferably in the form of a simple and easily operated hand tool similar in a general way to the ordinary pliers. As I herein sho vn, this tool consists of the two lever members 11 suitably connected with each other at one of their ends for relative ivotal movement, as by means of the pin 12. hese ends of the lever members are r0- vided with suitably formed arts with w ich complementary parts of t e jaws 13 are adapted to be engaged. Preferably these jaws are removably or detachably secured to the respective lever members by means of the screws'indicated at 14. Each of these jaws has a reduced part 15 extending inwardly over the end of the lever member to which the jaw is attached and said parts bein provided with opposed plane surfaces as s own 3 of the drawings, for relative sliding contact with'each other. These slidably engaged parts of the jaws are provided with the angularl proj ectin cutting and expending bits 16, t e relative fy opposite edges of said cutting bits being ormed with the curved or concaved cutting edges 17 and with the rounded or convex cam surface 18 contiguous to each of said cutting edges.

In spaced relation to the pivot 12 connecting the lever members 11 with each other, one of said lever members is provided with an inwardly pro'ecti'ng stud 19 while the other lever mem er carries an adjustable its ends engaged around the inner end of said screw and the stud 19 and yieldingly holds said lever members in the normal'position' relative to each other as seen in Fig. 1 with the two cutting bits 16 positioned in the same plane. C a

In the attachment of the escutcheon member to the door plate, said member is first arranged as seen in Fig. 4 of the drawings, with its flange 7 extending inwardly through the opening 10 in the door plate. The workman now positions the bit16 of the tool through the bearing element 6 and the flange 7 and without exerting pressure against the annular head 5 of the escutcheon member, vers 11 are pressed towards each other, thus relativelymoving the cutting bits 16 and separating the same laterally so that their cutting edges 17 will cut or slit the escutcheon flange 7 at diametrically opposite points. In the latter portion .of this movement and be- -fore.the opposed ends of the stud 19 and screw 20 come into contact, the cutting edges 17 of said bits bite into or indent the metal. door plate at the edge of the opening 10 as clearly shown at 22 in Fig. 7 of the drawings. At the same time the metal of the flange 7* at one side of the 'cut therein is expanded outwardly under pressure by the cam surface 18 on the cutting bit and into the indentation 22. It is also obvious that in this outward expansion of the parts of the flange 7 into the indentations of the door plate, the escutcheon member will also be drawn towards the door late so that its rear wall will be urged into tight frictional abutting contact. against the outer face of said plate. The operator now releases the pressure on the lever members 11 so that they will be returned to normal position by the spring 21 and he then turns the tool through 180 and again operates the same to cause the cutting and ex Banding bits 16 to similarly cut or slit the ange 7 and expand the same into additional indentations in the door plate 9 in the manner above explained. Thus, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, the metal of the escutcheon flan e 7 will be interlocked with the metal of the oor plate at four different points around the opening 10. It has been found in new tice that this method and means of attac ing the escutcheon to the door plate efli'ects an absolutely rigid inseparable connection between the parts in so far as any attempt to remove said escutcheon member from the outer side of the door is concerned. It'will be evident that by means of the tool shown in the accompanying drawings or its mechanical equivalent, and the method herein described,

screw 20. A coiled expansion spring 21 has the lethe escutcheon members may be very rapidly attached to the door plates with the assurance of absolute security and accuracy in the relation between the escutcheon member and the latch handle receiving opening and it is also evident that such attaching or assembling operation may be performed by -unskilled labor. Also since it is the practice of the automobile manufacturer to apply these cscutcheons, after the doors have been painted, my present invention obviates any possibility of marring the paint'on the surface of the door which is not an infrequent occurrence wheh attaching screws for the escutcheon members by reason of the screw-driver slipping and cutting into the surface of the door. Therefore, it will be appreciated that my invention enables the manufacturer to expedite production and at the same time effect a decrease in operation and material costs.

In the foregoing description, I have referred to one simple and practical embodiment of my present improvements, but it will nevertheless be understood that in practice various alternatives of the several features of my present disclosure might be resorted to, and I therefore, reserve the privilege of adopting all such le itimate changes therein as may be fairly em odied within thespirit and scope of the invention as claimed. I claim:

1. The method of securing an escutcheon member to a metal door plate which consists in first positioning a flange on said member through an o ening in the door plate, then slitting said ange at spaced points and indenting the door plate at the edge of said opening and expanding the flange metal into the indentations in the door plate.

2. The method of securing an escutcheon member to a metal door plate which consists in first positioning a flange on said member through an o ening in the door plate, then slitting said ange at spaced points and indenting the door plate at the edge of said opening and simultaneously expanding parts of the flange metal at one side of each slit into said indentations to draw the escutcheon 4 member into tight engagement with the face of the door plate around said opening and secure the escutcheon member against rotation relative to the door plate.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name hereto. LEON OTTINGER. 

